Female tax officer 'took under-the-table payments'

A female employee at HM Revenue & Customs is
reportedly under investigation by the department for allegedly giving
more than 20 companies inflated VAT rebates worth over £2million.

The official was yesterday said to be one of eight people identified
by police and HMRC as potentially being linked to the suspected scam,
which may have cost taxpayers £2.4m since its alleged commencement two
years ago, The Sunday Times reported.

Speaking to the newspaper, a businessman suspected of involvement
said he'd been questioned about a single tax rebate running into the
tens of thousands of pounds: “They were asking questions about a
particular tax official, but I said I didn’t know her.”

Another unnamed source was quoted as saying that a “woman on the
inside at HMRC” had been accused of authorising transactions in return
for “under-the-table” payments. However, the department declined to
confirm or deny the allegation.

A spokesperson for the Revenue told the paper: “ We do not comment on
ongoing investigations…[but] we will always thoroughly investigate any
allegations of wrongdoing.”